Drugstore.com set to acquire Salu Inc.

Online beauty and pharmacy retailer drugstore.com has agreed to acquire Salu Inc., parent company of SkinStore.com and spalook.com. The deal is expected to close during the first quarter of next year, said David Lonczak, CMO of drugstore.com.

“Our strategy includes focusing on the beauty business – both prestige beauty as well as mass beauty,” Lonczak said. “SkinStore.com been a competitor – doing roughly $40 million in revenue this year. The choice of competing with or working together to build one of the largest online beauty retailers was an easy one.”

Drugstore.com, which also owns and operates beauty.com, plans to retain both Salu's brand names and employees, who will remain at its Sacramento, CA, headquarters. Employee and executive hierarchy within each company will remain the same, save for Salu's president and CEO Jim Steeb reporting to Drugstore.com CEO Dawn Lepore.

“The value proposition of a shared cart between drugstore.com and beauty.com has allowed us to thrive in this economy, and this has been one of our best years,” Lonczak said. “Growing into our infrastructure put us in a position to make this acquisition.”